What Are Friends For? Part 1
by Heroine of the Valley
Summary: It was going to be a one part story, but ended up being kinda long. Well, TK faces the toughest basketball team and there's something upsetting Kari.
1. Default Chapter Title

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What are friends for? Part 1

Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine. I just happen to like the show.

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Dribble. Dribble. Bounce. Bounce. Skip. Skip. Grunt. Grunt. Squeak. Squeak. Bang. 

"T.K dribbles, fakes left, fakes right, goes up and down the court. He's on fire! No one can catch him, he shoots, he scores!" T.K cried while shooting hoops in the basketball court. The big basketball game was coming up next week and T.K wanted to prepare himself. The Odabai Tigers were going to take on the Yokoyama Bears. (Remember them from my other fic, _Girl's Kick Butt? _Well, their basketball team is worse!!)

"Nice job, Takaishi," one of his teammates commented, clapping.

"Oh, hey Hashima," T.K said, blushing. He threw the ball to him. "Wanna practice with me?" T.K was in high school now. He grew to be 6'1" and he was just a sophomore. (Can you say _dammmn!?_) He was a most excellent basketball player and co-captain. In his own words, he leads his team like a general leads an army! He was practicing with every free moment he had so the team would be ready for the game. He was also dating Kari, but his practices cut their time short. On top of that, there were quarter exams during that week.

"No, your girlfriend is probably wondering where you are so you guys can study!" Tommy Hashima laughed.

T.K laughed back, "If Kari gets lonely she can tutor Davis for a while." Then his jaw dropped, "uh, maybe it's better for me to go, just incase Davis makes any more moves on her. Can you believe the guy can't even get my name right? Still!?"

"He's a soccer player, T.K," Tommy said with a shrug, "they don't know nothin'!"

"And you don't know proper grammar!" T.K corrected, folding his arms. He then reached his hand to his mouth as he yawned. "But you should practice, Hashima, I've seen you double dribbling in practice!"

"I do _not_ double dribble!" Tommy cried.

"Yeah, right. I'll see you at practice tomorrow." He waved at him and left the gym. T.K could hear Hashima dribbling as he walked out, "you're double dribbling again!"

"Dang," Tommy mumbled, "it's like he's got eyes in the back of his head!"

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Ring. Ring. "Hello??"

"Kari, hey!" 

"T.K! Hi, was just going to start our tutoring session without you."

"Please don't," he said into the phone.

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Knock, Knock.

"Who could that be?" Kari asked, the receiver inches to her mouth.

"Maybe you should answer it." T.K said.

She opened the door to see T.K standing their holding a cell phone. "Hey!"

"T.K! I didn't know you had a cell phone!" she turned the phone off and put her hands on her hips.

"I got a beeper too. So when you need me, just beep me."

Kari smiled. He was so sweet. "You know I will. Let's get ready to study, okay?" 

"Do we have to?" he groaned as he fell on her coach.

"Yeah, if you want to stay on the team."

T.K gasped, "sweetie, I happen to have very good grades. And I'm the team co-captain, you think they kick me off just because I got a not-so-great grade on a stupid test?"

Kari picked up the large literature book, "come on, it should be fun. Don't you like literature?"

"Sure, that's where most of the movies come from. Speaking of movies, let's go to one!"

"T.K!" Kari groaned, "let's just get this done, okay!?"

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she moaned, "I'm just a bit tired."

"Has Davis been saying anything to upset you?" 

"No." 

"C'mon, Kari, you can talk to me. What did Davis say?"

Kari smiled, "T.K, everything's fine," she half lied. Actually, she's been having doubts about their relationship since they were kids. T.K was always sweet, but still, something bothered her. Something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. "Now let's get started so you can have a good night's rest. If you're lucky, maybe I'll make you a treat!"

"Then toss that bad boy over here!" T.K cried, pointing to the book. Kari gave it to him. And he motioned for her to come and sit on his lap. Kari sighed and sat on his lap while looking through the textbook. They did all of the problems and got them right. If he played his cards right, T.K would get an A on the test.

"Very good, T.K," Kari said. "You got every answer right."

"So, what's my treat?" he grinned mischievously.

"Let's study your math now."

"Nuh-uh, I want my treat!"

Kari sighed. "Oh, okay." She sat up from his lap and made him an ice cream sundae. She even fed it to him. "How did practice go? Are you ready for the game next Friday?"

"Not yet," he responded, "but I'm practicing every minute I can."

"Well," Kari said, "you bet I'll be there to cheer you on."

"Thanks." He smiled as he started to kiss her.

"T.K," Kari mumbled, stepping back, cutting the kiss short, "it's getting late. And we both have tests tomorrow."

T.K raised an eyebrow. She never backed away from him before. Where there things happening in their relationship that he didn't know about? "Yeah," he nodded, deciding not to get into it. He looked at his watch. "See you tomorrow, Kari." 

Kari watched T.K open the door, turn around to look at her once more and close the door behind him. Kari immediately went to the door and locked it. She went to her room, sat on her bed and reached her hand to a picture of her and T.K together. She liked him, she couldn't' deny it. She liked his smile, his blond hair, the way he said "hey Kari, what's up?" but still, she was having these feelings. Was she falling in love with him? Or was it something else? Then she thought of Davis. The _other_ guy in her life. Since she and T.K were dating, Davis called her t everyday to "check up" on her. He wasn't trying to make her feel guilty by saying "you picked TJ over me?" Sure, at first he was a bit jealous, he still felt jealous. But he tried to hide his jealously by trying to accept the relationship. If he owned the digiegg of courage and the digiegg of friendship, then he was supposed to understand his courage and his friendship. He just called to ask how she was doing and stuff. Sometimes he'd ask if she wanted to go out somewhere, especially when he noticed she was down. Kari turned down every offer.

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Ring, Ring. Kari picked up the phone, "Yes?"

"Hey, Kari, it's Davis."

Kari let out an agitated sigh. She knew he would call her. This being the second call today. "What do you want?"

"You looked upset today, Kari. Anything wrong?"

"Huh?"

"Come on, Kari. I saw you at lunch today. I sat right across from you and TJ, remember?"

"T.K." She corrected.

"Whatever. Well, you hardly touched your lunch."

"Wasn't hungry," she explained.

"Yeah, I don't like the school's food much either, but shouldn't a person eat?"

"Davis, I appreciate the call, but I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow, K?" she hung up before he could even say goodbye.

Davis stared at the phone, "um, bye Kari." He shook his head as he hung up and called T.K's number. "Is T.A there?"

"Sorry, you must have the wrong number," T.K's mom said and hung up.

Davis hung up. "Well, I'll just have to talk to T.I in person."

*~*~*~*~THE NEXT DAY*~*~*~*~

"Yo, T.D!" Davis cried, running up to him. 

"My name's T.K!" T.K shouted over his shoulder as he opened his locker. He opened it to reveal dozens of pictures, some of him and Matt, 2 him and his family before they split up, one picture of a pro basketball player and all the rest of him and Kari.

Davis looked at the pictures, "Certainly got a lot of pictures of you and Kari together."

"Yeah," T.K responded, taking a book out of his bag and into his locker just to take out another one out of the locker and into his bag, "I guess that's what I get for having a girlfriend with a hobby in photography, huh?"

"Listen, TJ, have you talked to Kari lately?"

"Of course, dude," T.K said, "she's my girlfriend. I talked to her just last night. And it's T.K."

"I talked to her last night too. I'm worried about her."

T.K raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

"She's not acting like herself." Davis explained. "Have you noticed that she hasn't been eating lately?"

T.K's eyes bulged, "what?" then he suddenly remembered of the time she got a terrible fever in the digiworld. He remembered looking down at her on that bench, seeing her so pale, her forehead drenched with sweat, hearing her cough, and feel so helpless.

"TJ, what's wrong?" Davis pushed his shoulder, "hey, wake up!"

"You say she hasn't been eating?" T.K asked, finally coming to his senses.

"And she looks very tired too," Davis added, "I bet she's not sleeping well either."

T.K sighed, "yeah, she's not acting herself lately at all. She's not her cheery self."

Davis looked at his watched, "I better get going, we'll talk later."

T.K nodded and thanked Davis. He walked to Kari's locker. He had two minutes until the final bell. He didn't' care if he was late for homeroom or not. He was going to talk to Kari and get answers from her.

"Class is going to start, T.K," Kari said, closing her locker door. T.K noticed that some of the photos of them were missing. 

"We need to talk," T.K said, grabbing her hand.

"Can't it wait?" she asked, "I have a test in Psychology!"

"I have a test in literature and in science." He tightened his hand on her slender wrist. "But I'm not leaving this spot until I get some answers!"

"We have two minutes." She told him.

"That's enough time."

"T.K, I really must be going," she said, stepping away. "If I need you, I'll beep you, okay?" and without letting him respond, she ran down the hall to her class.

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Why, Kari? T.K thought, _Why are you shutting me out?_

With all the stress on his mind, T.K did the best he could to concentrate on each of his tests. _I can't do it,_ he thought, _man, what a week! My girlfriend won't talk to me, I've got all these exams and we're facing the toughest team Friday!_ _At least Davis isn't on my case. _He answered the questions to the best of his knowledge and started to write a note to Kari.

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Hey Kari,

Listen, sweetie. I'm worried about you. Davis is too. You know if there's a problem, you can talk to me. I'll listen to whatever you have to say. Did I do something to make you mad? Did Davis make you mad? We're both worried about you. I guess that's all there is to say. 

Love, TK

When the bell rang, he went straight to her locker and popped the note in. He noticed that Davis did the same thing. 

"She wouldn't listen to you either, huh?" Davis asked, walking away from Kari's locker with him.

T.K shook his head.

"Maybe she misses the digiworld or something." Davis suggested, looking on the bright side.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Davis."

"What do you mean?" Davis asked, confused.

TK was hoping for the best, but was prepared for the worst, "I think, I think Kari's going to break up with me." He looked at Davis, waiting for him to cheer for joy. "Well, now's your chance, Davis. You've always had your eyes on Kari. You can have her now."

"TD, you know me better than that," Davis snapped, surprised by his reaction, "there's plenty of girls for me to choose from."

They went to their next classes, took their tests and went to lunch. TK and Davis found Kari sitting alone, with practically nothing on her tray.

"Hey, Kari, over here!" Davis cried from another table. Then Yolei grabbed her arm and led her over. 

"Here, Kari," TK gave her half of his sandwich.

"My dad said you should never throw away food unless it smells bad," Cody chided.

"And it smells good to me!" Yolei laughed.

"What's going on here?" Kari demanded.

"You haven't been eating lately," Davis answered.

"I've lost my appetite," she explained. And stood up from the table and left.

TK picked at his salad. Something in TK told him to follow her. "Kari?" he said when he opened the door. He heard a lot of commotion and saw a group of kids in a circle.

"Are you okay?" a girl asked.

TK gasped, taking in all the air of the hall. "KARI!" he ran down the hall and pushed through the circle. Kari was on the floor, unconscious. "Kari, speak to me, baby."

Kari blinked, "Hey."

The others ran out of the doors and to TK and the weary Kari. "Kari, are you okay?" Yolei asked.

"Tai's gonna be so mad at me," TK mumbled, lifting Kari up in his arms. He walked to the nurse's office, with Davis right behind him. The nurse asked for them to go back to the cafeteria, but TK and Davis weren't leaving. The nurse shrugged and went in the office to check on Kari.

"You don't' need to stay, Davis," TK muttered.

"Hey, she's my friend too," Davis said, "besides, you look like you could use one right now."

TK smiled, "Thanks, Davis."

"What a week this has been, huh?" Davis asked.

"Yeah." TK nodded, "I have no idea how I'm going to play in that game next Friday."

"Hey, it's just a week away. And we have a great basketball team."

"We're not ready to face the bears. They're like playing against a bunch of Ken's all at once. And trust me, basketball's nothing like soccer."

"Maybe Ken should join the team," Davis said.

"He doesn't play basketball," TK said.

"The guy's a genius. I'm sure he'll pick it up in a few days. I can even join if you want me too."

TK forced a laugh, "You? Come on, you only know how to dribble with your feet!"

Davis shrugged. "Okay, it's your loss, but can't I at least shoot some hoops with ya?"

"Sure, why not? I'd appreciate it."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"Yeah." TK said, smiling at Davis and then turning his head to his feet.

The nurse came out and TK and Davis immediately stood up. "What is it?" TK demanded.

"It's nothing serious. Just mild dehydration and sleep depravation. She needs to go home and plenty of rest and fluids. She looks like she hasn't been eating well either."

"She hasn't," Davis said.

"Any reason why she'll be trying to starve herself?" the nurse asked, "is she over conscious of her weight or--"

"Kari isn't like that!" TK yelled, "I love her just the way she is and you telling me she's anorexic is just plain nuts!"

"Come on, TA," Davis cried, pulling him back, "you're yelling at the nurse!" Davis peered over TK's shoulder and smiled at the shocked nurse, "poor guy has had it rough lately." He explained, "come on, TJ, let's get going, okay?" He pulled him out of the office and into the hall.

Kari wasn't able to come to school until she got better. But she wasn't getting much better. It was now Monday and the game was this week. Sora and Matt and Izzy came to see her every now and then. And so did Yolei and Cody. Davis and TK came more often. Tai didn't let Kari out of his sight. He made sure he was eating everything he put in front of her. Sometimes she just wouldn't eat it and so he called TK to help him.

"Still won't eat?" TK asked, closing the door behind him. Kari wanted to be left alone and get some sleep. But she couldn't. She listened to Tai and TK's conversation. She also read the notes TK and Davis left her. They were almost written exactly the same. They were both worried about her and wanted to know if there was something they could do to help.

"Yeah," Tai answered, walking into the kitchen. He offered him a glass of water. TK thanked him and took a swig. "I don't' get it, Kari's been doing much better since we returned from the digiworld after fighting the dark masters and Apocyplsmon. Really, she was. She didn't have pneumonia attacks, colds or anything."

"Pneumonia?" TK mumbled, setting down his water glass.

"I didn't tell you, did I?" Tai asked. "I told Izzy about it though, that time we were all separated."

"I remember," TK said, "the time Kari got sick."

Tai nodded, "When Kari was around four, she got really sick. It was pneumonia. We almost lost her, TK. It would've been all my fault too."

"Your fault?" TK asked.

"Yeah, I got back from soccer one day. Kari wasn't feeling all that great, so I took her outside with me so we could play. I thought it would cheer her up. She kicked the ball wrong and when I picked it up to show her how to kick it," Tai sighed and wiped away a tear when he remembered that awful, disturbing memory, "Kari was on the ground."

"But, but she made it, right? She got better, didn't she?"

"Yeah, and then she said something to me that I'd never forget."

"What was it?" TK asked.

"You wont' like it," Tai mumbled, "when she came back from the hospital, she said 'Tai, I'm sorry I didn't kick the ball very good, you probably won't want to play with me anymore.'"

"She said that!?" T.K cried.

"And that wasn't the only time," Tai told him, "Kari had a lot of illnesses. Colds mostly, but she went to doctor after doctor."

"Poor Kari," T.K muttered.

"And now this happens," Tai said, "what could make my sister anorexic right when she's getting better? It doesn't make any sense!" Tai turned and walked to the living room and sat down, his heads in his hands. "I'm her big brother, I'm supposed to take care of her and watch over her, some big brother I am, huh? I'm a worse brother to my little sister than Matt is to you!"

TK didn't noticed Tai's remark. He was too busy thinking about Kari. She was sick again and for all he knew, it was because of him.

"TK, what's the matter?" Tai demanded, standing from his seat when he saw that TK wasn't saying anything," do you know why Kari's sick? You're her boyfriend, she must've told you something!" 

TK stood still and didn't speak.

Tai marched to him and shook him, "Damn it, TK, tell me!"

"I don't know, Tai. She hasn't told me a thing. Davis noticed she wasn't eating well before me, to tell you the truth. I was in basketball practice most of the time, preparing for the game." 

"So, Davis was watching out for Kari while you were too busy shooting hoops with your friends?!" Davis demanded, shaking him again. Kari sat up her bed and put her head to the door. She couldn't believe they were shouting at each other.

"This game's important," TK said, "and Kari really didn't seem to mind."

"She's like that, TK, don't' you get it? She never thinks about what she wants!"

TK didn't want to hear this. He heard enough. "I better, get going. Let me know if she gets better, okay?" TK turned and walked out.

Tai folded his arms and unfolded them again. He sighed as he opened the fridge and took out the juice pitcher and went back to Kari's room. When Kari heard him coming, she rushed back to her bed and underneath the covers.

"Kari, you still asleep?" Tai's voice came. 

Kari closed her eyes. 

Through the darkness, his footsteps came forward and he put more juice in her juice cup. He sat on the edge of her bed and kissed her cheek. She felt him push the covers around her. 

"Sleep well, Kari," Tai said and walked out. If he had the light on and if he looked at Kari just right, he would've noticed that there were tears streaming down her cheeks.

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Wow, I didn't know it would be this long. So, I'll split it into parts so it won't be so long. Okay? J


	2. Default Chapter Title

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What Are Friends For? Part 2

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I do not own Digimon in anyway, shape or form. I just love Digimon!

"Can you stand up and take a few steps for me?" Joe asked Kari. Tai asked him to come over and check on her. She looked like she needed a doctor and Joe was already in Medical School. He said he could use the practice and it saved a trip to the hospital. And Kari did not want to go to the hospital.

Kari groaned as she pushed the covers over. Joe held out his hands and she placed hers in his. He pulled her up and she started walking. Poor Kari was so weak she couldn't even stand and walk without help. 

"Thanks for coming over, Joe," Tai said, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

"You're welcome," Joe said, "could you just give us a few minutes?"

Tai nodded, "let me know if you need anything." And he left, closing the door behind him.

"Kari, I want you to look at yourself," Joe said, leading her to the mirror.

Kari squinted and turned her head. "No."

"Please?" He placed her in front of the full body mirror. "Look at yourself Kari. Are you happy with how you look?"

Kari sighed, "what's wrong with me?"

"Kari, look at yourself!" Joe grunted, his hands on her arms. "Your ribs are showing through your night shirt, your shoulders are all bony and….well, you're skin and bones!" He was right. Kari weighed less than 90 pounds.

"I don't care," she muttered. She wore a light blue tank top with white butterflies on it and dark blue pajama pants. She looked at the skeleton in front of her. She simply did not care.

"Are you trying to lose weight?" he asked.

"No."

"Then why aren't you eating?"

"I have no appetite."

"Kari, listen to me," he turned around and looked at her eyes. He grew tired of looking at her reflection. "What you're doing to yourself is wrong. Just what do you plan to gain by starving yourself to death? You want to end up in the hospital and have all your meals fed to you with a small clear tube?"

"No." Her eyes were all puffy and red. She had dark lines underneath them and her face was so bony.

He led her back to her bed and sat her down. She looked so pale, as if she was going to pass out any second.

"This isn't you, Kari," Joe said. 

Not even Mimi, the girl who always worried about her looks, wouldn't even become anorexic. Even she had a bit more pride in herself. If she was worried about her weight, she'd dye all her clothes black instead of pink because it made you look skinnier. And she'd join one of those fitness clubs. But Kari didn't want to lose weight. She already had a trim figure. She never said _anything_ about her being fat, so there had to be something else. 

"Maybe we should take you to the hospital." Joe told her. "Have you see a doctor, maybe a psychologist about all this."

"No!" Kari cried. And she began screaming, "No more doctors, no more doctors!" She fell into his arms, "please Joe, I don't want to go to the hospital again. Not the hospital, please! No more doctors!"

"What's going on here?!" Tai demanded, swinging the door open.

Joe stepped back in surprise, "I just told her she should see a doctor."

"Tai, I don't want to see anymore doctors!" Kari wailed as he sat down and put his arms around her frail body. "Please, no more doctors! Don't make me do it!"

"You know Joe's right…" Tai began.

"No more doctors! Please, Tai, no more doctors!" She began shaking as she sobbed.

"Okay, okay," Tai said, "just calm down, okay? No more doctors. We won't take you to the hospital."

"I don't want to go there again," she whispered, "no more doctors…" she started to grow tired. Her sudden outburst took all her strength. "No more doc-toorrrrrs." She fell asleep in Tai's arms and he laid her back down.

"Tai, can I talk to you for a second?" Joe asked.

"Sure," he followed him out and then they went into Tai's room.

"I guess Kari doesn't have a lot of luck with doctors, huh?" he asked. "Haven't even finished med school and already no one wants to see me."

"Joe, you're our friend. And when you become a doctor, I'm sure you'll be great."

"What's this about Kari not wanting to see doctors?" Joe asked, sitting in Tai's desk chair. "Is she afraid of them or something? Why do I get the feeling that there's more behind this?"

"Kari's," Tai started, "had a lot of illnesses when she was a kid."

"What kind of illnesses?" he asked.

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor!" Tai blurted. "Oh, I'm sorry, Joe." He said when he noticed Joe's surprised look. He walked to the window. "Kari had pneumonia once. At least, that's what I think it was. She got really sick and almost died. I knew she was sick, but I took her outside with me to play. I thought it would make her feel better. Man, I was so stupid! I almost caused my sister's death! And you know what? That wasn't the only time. She had a lot of colds and flu-bugs. She always had to stay at home. Then one time, at the digiworld, she got sick, and it was my fault…we shouldn't have taken her with us, we should have just left her home."

"Tai, what happened in the digiworld?"

"Well, when we were fighting the dark masters and we all split up," he said, turning around, "we were walking across the desert and Kari got a very bad fever and collapsed."

"The sun at the digiworld can give nasty sunburns too," Joe said with a nod.

"I wish you were there with us," Tai said, "we couldn't' find medicine and we didn't know what to do."

"Best way to stop a fever is some rest and fluids," Joe informed with a smile. "But I wish I was there too. I had some aspirin with me just incase."

"But when we turned from the digiworld," Tai said, "Kari got better. She could run and play. But now she's so depressed that she can't eat."

"Tai, I'm not a doctor yet," Joe said, standing up, "but a know a sick person when I see one. And Kari's very sick. She needs a doctor. Not just any doctor, but a psy---"

"You mean a shrink?!" Tai demanded, "my sister's not crazy!"

"I didn't say that, but obviously she has a problem." Joe told him, "I'm not going to force you to do anything Tai, but unless your sister starts eating, you'll be calling an ambulance and she'll be in the hospital anyway."

"I couldn't' stand it if anything happens to my sister," Tai moaned, "I almost lost her once because of me."

"Hey, you were just trying to cheer her up." Joe said, "sometimes a little fresh air can make someone feel much--"

"She almost died, Joe." Tai sniffed. "My parents were very angry with me."

"Hey, listen, you still got your sister," Joe told him. "And she's not mad at you."

"Yeah, but look at her, Joe! She's _dying!_ She won't eat anything!"

"Here, try this. Give her some kind of supplement," Joe said, "like a milkshake. They have a lot of vitamins and minerals and that would give her a bit more energy and maybe her appetite will increase. You can find them in drugstores."

"Thanks, Joe," Tai said with a smile. "I appreciate it."

Joe smiled back and put his hand on his shoulder, "let me know if there's any change. And if you still--"

"We'll call, thanks, Joe. O' Reliable!"

Joe put his hands on his hips and tilted his head, "when I become a doctor, I'll see if I can get my desk plate engraved with Ol' Reliable!" Then he turned around and said, plugging his nose to sound like a nurse on the intercom, "calling Doctor Ol' Reliable Joe, you're needed in ER…"

Joe's joke made Tai laugh. He was glad that he was able to laugh at this circumstance.

***********************************

"How's Kari?" Yolei asked TK during lunch. She sat on his left

"Worse," he muttered, looking at his untouched teriyaki rice bowl.

On TK right, Davis nudged him, "hey, don't you lose your appetite too, TP!"

"TP?! TP!?" he muttered.

"As in toilet paper?" Cody mumbled, "ha-ha, toilet paper!"

"It's not funny!" TK snapped at Cody.

"Sorry…" Cody said with a frown.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Cody, sorry for yelling at you." He put his head in his hands.

Yolei put her fork down and slid her arm around TK's shoulders and her hand on his arm, "hey, she'll be okay," she said comfortingly, "don't lose hope. You oughta know what it's like to be in a tough spot, you've got to keep going, TK. You gotta stay strong for Kari."

"Yeah, TS!" Davis said, "for Kari! She needs ya man!"

"Just when my life is about to come into focus, it shatters in a million pieces!" TK moaned, "just when everything's going for me, everything goes creepy on me again!"

"Oh, TK," Yolei sighed, "you can't talk like that."

"Yeah," Cody chided, "think of what your hope has done for our group. You were more experienced in the digiworld than any of us."

TK took a moment to think, "yeah, you're right."

"But I still wear Tai's goggles!" Davis reminded, pointing at the goggles on his head. He only took them off when he was in the shower or asleep.

"Davis, what were you doing during the summer when you were 8?" TK asked.

"Um, if I remember right, I was in soccer camp…"

"_Well,_" TK said with a grin, "while _you_ were kicking a black and white ball around, _I _was in a freaky new world, running away from evil digimon, my parents were just divorced, it took a long time for Patamon to digivolve, watching _good_ digimon die, fighting battle after battle, leaving the digiworld to get the 8th child, who just happened to be Kari, return to beat the dark masters and Apoclyspmon and I had enough time to come back before the summer was over!" he laughed, stood up and placed his hands on the table. "WHO'S DA MAN NOW!?!_"_

Davis blinked, "uh…yeah, well…I still wear Tai's goggles!"

*~*~*~THE DAY OF THE GAME*~*~*~

"Good luck, TS," Davis wished.

"Yeah, thanks Davis," TK said as he was about to get on the court.

"Kick a goal for me, will ya?"

"I will, and it's shoot a basket."

"Whatever."

Davis walked to sit next to Ken. "So who do you think will win, Mr. Ex-Digimon Emperor?"

"Funny you're asking a once evil genius all this." Ken said, raising an eyebrow. "But of course our team will win because it's the best."

While TK and his team were warming up, Kari came and watched him from the doors. She was still very sickly-looking. But she knew this was the game of TK's life and she promised him she'd be there. Although she rather stay in bed and feel sorry for herself, she came. While Tai was gone to the store to get groceries, she got out of bed, took a warm shower, put on new clean clothes, and even put on a little makeup. She forced herself to eat a bowl of cereal before leaving.

"Go TK!" Kari cheered with all her strength. "Hey number 7! Go!" (Number 7, funny, isn't he the 7th digidestined?? And number 7 is the luckiest number??!)

"Kari?" he whispered, turning around, thinking it was all in his head.

Tommy Hashima smiled at Kari and nodded to TK, "looks who's here, Taikaishi."

"Kari!" TK cried then ran to her. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be asleep getting well!"

"I told you I'd be here, silly," Kari said, forcing to smile. "I'll be cheering for you."

"Thanks, Kari." 

Kari gave him a good luck hug and a peck on a cheek.

"Oh, how cozy," snickered someone from the other team. "Someone grab a bucket, I think I'm going to pu-uuuke!"

The smile was stripped away from TK's face in a flash. When Davis noticed this, he walked right down and grabbed Kari, "hey Kari, I've been saving you a seat."

"You have?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

Davis led her back to the stands. She sat between Ken and Davis.

"So was that weak little chick yours?" the one who made the stupid remark to TK before asked him as they hunched over to wait for the ref to throw the ball up in the air.

"Shut up and let's play some basketball," TK muttered, careful not to lose his temper.

"You bet she was!" Tommy answered for him. "And she's not weak and little. She might be a chick and might be TK's, but Kari isn't little and weak, in fact, Kari's the most popular girl in school!!!"

TK looked at him as if to say "don't get so angry that you'll start double dribbling."

"Oooh, I'm scared!!" the self righteous, obnoxious bear said.

"You better be, SMOKEY THE BEAR!" another one of TK's teammates barked, "This is one forest fire that we didn't prevent!"

The ref threw the ball in the air and the player of the other team in the center got it first. He dribbled past TK and Tommy, but TK was right on his tail. As TK was about to steal the ball, he elbowed TK right in the ribs and made the basket. People on the Tiger's side booed and hissed as the ones on the Bears cheered.

"You okay, Taikaishi?" Tommy asked, lending him his hand.

"He knocked down my younger brother!" Matt yelled from the stands, jumping up, "INTERFERENCE!! Take him out of the game!!"

Sora turned to look at him, "This is High School basketball, Matt, not Peewee basketball."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't make it right to knock down people in the game!" he muttered as he sat down.

TK looked up at Matt and cried, "Don't worry Matt, I'm alright!"

TK was able to get the ball back and he made a basket.

"You cheated," a bear grunted.

"OH, and knocking me down on purpose is fair?" TK demanded, passing the ball to another one of his teammates.

The second quarter wasn't that great either. TK was knocked in the ribs again.

"That's not fair!" Ken shouted.

"What do you know about fair?" Davis demanded, leaning over past Kari.

"Hey, I learned my lesson!" Ken grumbled.

Then there was half time. They were tied so far 4 to 4. Davis stood up, "well, I'm not going to watch the rest of this show if there's something I can do about it! Come on, Ken, we're joining the game!"

"We're soccer players, you idiot!" Ken cried.

"Well, there's got to be SOMETHING we can do!"

Kari smiled, "hey, we're tied."

Davis grunted and stood up, "I'm gonnna get a soda. Want one, Kari?"

"Sure," she said.

Davis walked to the concession stand where he overheard people from the other team talking.

"I'm going to fix that guy good," one of them muttered, the guy who kept tripping TK and elbowing him.

Davis hid behind a soda machine. At first he thought, _yeah, let them fix TA! Then I can have Kari!_ Then scolded himself silently for thinking so, _no, he's my friend and Kari's sick. I'd hate for her to be worried._ He listened more to their rude conversation, "that jerk," he said under his breath, "TJ's my friend!"

"After the game, when we win, let's show them our 'showmanship!'" then all his buddies laughed.

"What are you doing?" Yolei demanded, walking up behind Davis, scaring him.

"Whaaa! Yolei, hush!" he stood up, grabbed her and pulled her aside, "they're going to jump TK!"

"Are you serious?!" she cried, "then we've got to tell everyone!"

"No…I've got a better idea." He laughed, "a much better idea…"

TK wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. Back from the locker room, he kept his mind focused on winning. He had to fight this time. He imagined that each player was a bakamon with a basketball so he will win. Grinding his teeth, he hunched over and looked at his opponent across him.

"You're going down, pal!" the bear grumbled.

"Now, now," TK sneered, "don't get all puffy!" (I so liked it when Patamon said that to Elecmon!)

As soon as the ref threw the ball in the air, TK grabbed it and he shot threw the bears like they weren't even there. 

"Whoa…." They mumbled, "look at him go!"

"That's my brother!" Matt shouted.

"Here's your soda, Kari," Davis said, handing her a bottle of soda, "and some peanuts and some candy bars and…"

"Dav-iiss!" she said, "how much did this cost you?!"

"Hey, I pitched in," Yolei said, "Mr. Spendy here wanted 3 things of nachos!" she elbowed Davis in the ribs, while he was putting a fist full of nachos in his mouth.

"Yolei, I'm trying to eat!" he grunted. Hot cheese almost spilt down his shirt.

"Hey, quit hoggin'!" Cody snapped, "I think Kari needs that more than you do!"

"Wow, look at my brother go!" Matt cheered, "yeah, TK!"

"Time to take that guy out of the game, for good," the angry bear said. He went to knock TK down, but TK being so tall and tough, stood right up like it didn't' even phase him.

"This is basketball, you moron, not Sumo Wrestling!" TK cracked and ran from the surprised bear to make another basket.

"Yeah, go Taikaishi!" Hashima encouraged. They scored 6 more points and won the game. Tai ran into the gymnasium, a frightened look on his face.

"Kari!" Tai shouted.

Kari stood up, "I'm right here, Tai." She said.

"Oh my gosh," he ran up to the stands and nearly knocked over Davis' nachos.

"Watch it, Tai! I paid good money for those!"

"_You_ did?!" Yolei snapped.

"I was so worried about you," Tai freaked, "don't every scare me like that, again, alright?" he pulled her in his arms and hugged her tight. "Mom and Dad would kill me if they found out what happened!"

"I'm alright," she muttered, "really."

After the game, TK was walking back from the locker room, unaware that the bears were waiting for him to jump on him. "He's going to get it," one of them said, putting on some brass knuckles.

"TK!!" Davis warned, running up behind him.

"Davis, for the last time, my name's…" he turned around to tell Davis off and then he blinked, "hey, you said TK!"

"Watch out!"

"Huh?"

The angry bears stepped out. "I can't beleive we lost to you wussies!" He was about to punch TK's face in, but Davis stepped in, grabbed his arm and punched him.

"What a bunch of sore losers." Davis groaned. "Aww!" he grunted as his mouth was met with antoher's fist.

"Hey!" TK shouted, "if you've got a problem, let's solve it right now!" He took in a deep breath as he grabbed his rival's collar and punched him square in the face. "Don't be a bunch of morons, I'm bigger than you are!"

The bear rubbed his cheek, "we'll get you next time." Then the scrambled up to their feet and ran off as they heard their coach yelling.

"You okay, Davis?" TK asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll live."

"How did you know about this?"

"Heard them talking."

"Why didn't you tell the coach? Or the referees?!"

"I knew you can handle it," Davis said, "at first I thought maybe I should, but hey, you are taller than them. You'd take care of them easy. Besides, what are friends for?"

"Thanks, Davis."

"No problem," Davis said with a grin, "now if you excuse me, I ate a bit too much nachos and I've got _major_ heartburn!" he ran off to the water fountain and bathroom.

TK's beeper went off. "Hey, what's this? Whoa, a message from Kari!" He left the school and saw her in the playground swinging. "Got your message, where's Tai?"

"I told him I was going to stay a bit." She felt a slight push from his hands. "Good job, glad you won."

"Thanks, what's up?" he continued to push.

"TK, we need to talk."

"Yeah, we do," he stopped pushing and turned around to her and knelt down in front of her. "Feel better?"

She shook her head as the tears rolled by.

"Oh my gosh, tears," he muttered as he stroke them away with his finger. "Kari, what's the matter?"

"I-I don't know!" she wailed. "I'm sorry, TK!"

"For what?"

"For being so cruel to lately."

"Hey, don't worry about that," he said, squeezing her hand gently, "just tell me what's on your mind. Go ahead, babe. You can talk to me. Does this have anything to do with why you were starving yourself?"

"I, I think so. Actually, I don't know why I did it. I was just too upset to eat or think or to sleep. I was like," she paused and choked on her tears, "lost in my own little world."

"Does this have anything to do with us?"

Kari was quiet.

TK suddenly thought it was something he did, "baby, if I've--"

"It's all my fault," she muttered to cut him off, "you've been wonderful, TK."

"Then, what is it?"

Kari sniffed and forced a smile, "it's me, TK, it's me. I just wasn't able to handle all of this. This doesn't make any sense, doesn't it?"

"Hey, you're trying. Take your time."

Kari couldn't speak. "I don't know what to say."

So TK talked about what was on his mind, "baby, let me tell you something, K? Remember when we had to go search for you?"

She nodded, "Yes, I remember."

"Well, I was very excited that there was someone joining our group….and I was very upset when Gennai said he didn't remember your name!" He laughed, making Kari laugh too. "And I said I hoped that the child was my size so we could play together. G'swhat? I got my wish!"

"Actually, TK, I think I was a bit taller than you."

TK stood up to prove his height, "who's taller now?"

Kari smiled as he kneeled in front of her again, "I was very scared being the youngest in the group." He confessed, "and my parents were divorced and it was still kinda hard for me. Matt was still quiet and although he tried to protect me, he it seemed like he did ti because he had to, not because he wanted to. And I cried, a lot. I was very scared, Kari, very, very scared that I'd never return home and I was also scared that Patamon would never digivolve. But you know what? When we came to get you, I wasn't scared anymore. I guess you gave me something to believe in. I watched you how you were so brave to Myotismon and the way your light shines through everyone." He took her hand again, "how it shined through me. Kari, you made me a better person. When we returned to the digiworld, I didn't cry anymore. Never had a reason to, until that time you got sick."

She nodded, "yes, I remember. Man I had a nasty fever."

"Yes, you did. And maybe you were too out of it to notice it, but I was crying," he said sadly. "I was very sad and worried about you. I never felt so helpless. Just the thought of you, laying there, it scares me half to death! And it bothered me that I couldn't do anything to help you! But I wanted to help you Kari. I couldn't bear the thought of seeing you lie there anymore. I begged Tai to let me help. I gave it my best to take care of you. When I saw those digimon coming, I ran and told Sora to hurry up and get out of there!"

Kari smiled at his bravery. She waited for him to finish.

"Then we were all separated by that blast from MachineDramon. You fell asleep. But I stayed with you. I didn't leave for anything, not even to look for the others. You were a sleep for a long time!"

"You stayed with me," she said, "that long?"

"Of course I did," he told her. "It's not like I had anything else to do!"

"Oh, TK!" she cried out as she threw her arms around him, "th-thank you! I'm, so, so sorry for the way I've acted. Can you ever forgive me?" she asked as she sat back.

"Sure, now that I've told you how I feel," he said, taking both of her hands and giving them a squeeze, "it's your turn."

"TK, it's like I don't know who I am anymore. Ever since I knew I was a digidestiend too, all I was concerned about was Gatomon and the digworld. I didn't care about anything else, not even myself." She groaned and looked down, "I guess my light grew dim, huh?"

"No," he said, litfting her chin up with his finger, "_I still see it every time I look at you._"

"TK," she gushed, "you're so sweet to me."

He smiled and blushed.

"But I still don't understand why I did what I did. And it scares me. All I knew was how to be a digidestined. And that I didn't even know how to do very well. When I think of how close we got to losing the digiworld, each other…."

"Hey, don't worry about that," he said, "we've won. There's no digi-bad guy that we cant' face. I mean, think of it Kari, was there ever a digimon that we faced that we lost to? And that goes the same to Ken. He wasn't' a digimon, he was a kid like us. A kid with a very bad attitude and now look. He's a good guy now." He cupped her face, "you don't have to worry about anything, Kari, because everything's going to be just fine."

"I feel so low…" she groaned, hanging her head.

"Then all you need is a little lift," TK said. And with those words, he stood up and walked behind her.

"TK, what are you doing?" she asked.

TK pulled back on the chains as far as he could go. 

"TK!"

"Hold on," he grunted.

Then he ran forward with her and underneath her legs. She moved them to prevent him from getting kicked in the face. With his height, it's a wonder how he was able to do that and not get kicked in the face! He went back and pushed her some more. He continued to push her for about five to ten minutes and then she dragged her feet and he held onto the chains. Kari stood up and threw her arms around him. 

"TK, I've always felt something toward you," she said, hugging him tight, "I don't' know what it was, but I guess it was how close we've gotten over the years. We've become, great friends. You have no idea how much our friendship has meant to me. So, I need to ask you a favor."

"Name it," TK said, pulling her back to look in her red-brown eyes. "Name it."

"Stay with me," she pleaded, "I'm going through something right now and I'm going to need your help. There's no way I can do it alone. I need you, I need your hope…"

"I'll help you," he promised, "I'll stay right next to you, even longer than the time I sat next to you that day, waiting for you to wake up."

"Thanks, TK," she breathed.

"Hey, what are friends for, huh?" he said, putting his hands on his hips and giving her a silly grin. Then he leaned forward and gave her the first real kiss in her life. She kept her arms around his neck as he held her around the waist. It was more than just a kiss, it was a wake up call. And Kari will wake up from her nightmare very soon, as long as she has her hopeful companion with her.

****

The End. Sorry it was kinda long. And I'm surprised I wrote it like this. I didn't really plan on Kari having an eating disorder, it just ended up that way as I wrote it! Anyway, this is dedicated to anyone with an eating disorder. Myself being one of them. (I won't go into details here, email me if you want to hear the long sad story. And no, this isn't' an autobiography!) Hoped you liked my story. Oh, and REVIEW!!


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